The biggest problem of India is that it has not let go off the colonial baggage. Fair skin is premium; foreigners are always treated better than Indians in any hotel or social gathering. We swoon over the white skin so much so that Fairness creams for both women and men are one of the fastest selling products in the market. And then there is the last vestige of colonial hang-up which is represented by so-called elite, haute clubs with a very strict dress code as if clothes define a person or his character. In the land of Gandhi who walked around only with his dhoti is it incongruous that a club should define the dress of the colonial masters as the accepted dress code for men and the sari and other formal western dresses for women. In a country that is so diverse and with several cultural outfits that are equivalent to the “national” dress for those who wear them, it is ridiculous to chase a lady out who was invited to the up market Delhi Golf Club only because she was in an attire that the club officials could not recognize as being Indian or national. But more than the dress those in charge of the club perhaps gauged the social status of the Khasi lady, a governess to the son of a lady doctor- entrepreneur based in London, by her dress, which they thought did not merit here a lunch at the high table. The culturally illiterate Club officials had no business to chase away an invitee who was wearing a dress that is the honour and pride of Meghalaya and of Khasi womanhood. According to the doctor employer, Tailin Lyngdoh, her son’s governess was also invited for the lunch and was not there as an appendage. So to ask Lyngdoh to get out is to insult those who invited her.
It is good that the doctor has taken up this matter in the right quarters. The news has gone viral over social media and has been picked up by the national print and television media. Meanwhile the Delhi Golf Club has apologised saying the matter could have been handled better. How? This is a poor attempt at getting out of a difficult situation and the matter should not be allowed to rest there! Can a country where the class division is so sharp really call itself a democracy!